What I learned on Gadgets Day

By Rica Peralejo

MANILA, Philippines - I wanted so badly to be with my Umagang Kay Ganda (UKG) co-hosts Atom Araullo and Donita Rose at the Galleon Andalucia today! It would have been an encouraging atmosphere for me to practice mi poco español!

But some things called for me to stay in the studio, and such is life! I guess I’ll just have to check it out on my own some other time.

Anyway, it was equally fun at the studio today because it was “Gadgets Day”! Mr. Art Samaniego, Technology Editor of the Manila Bulletin, comes in every once in a while to tell us about the latest in technology.

Today he talked about the iPhone 4, the Victorinox Secure USB and iPod Nano with multi-touch display. So what did I learn about these things?

The iPhone 4: live wallpaper

The first thing I noticed was that the iPhone 4 had a moving background. No doubt that everyone is familiar with the concept of a personalized wallpaper, skin, theme, what-have-you, for your own unit--smartphones and regular phones alike. Isn’t it that we usually use them for snapshots of scenes and people we want to be reminded about? (Mine has a perfectly fried egg on it right now as a reminder of my progress in cooking.)

But today, I was introduced to the idea of a live wallpaper. Non-techie people, don’t be alarmed because as the term itself is simple, so is the explanation. Simply put, the wallpaper is live in the sense that it’s moving and not still like how pictures are. Now for major techies out there, forgive me if I cannot offer a more comprehensive or in-depth discussion of the software itself since I am just a lover of gadgets and not an expert.

Mr. Samaniego did say, though, that it was originally an Android feature, which the phone was not capable of. (That sounds German to me, by the way.) You can probably do your own research if you want to know more. My only question now is: Is it possible to use my own videos as my own wallpapers?

In the meantime, while I wait for Mr. Samaniego’s reply, I heard that a variety of these fun wallpapers are easily downloadable via the Internet. (Wow. I think the only thing I can’t load over the net is my physical self.)

The Victorinox Secure USB: cool and not cool

Now moving on to the Victorinox Secure USB. That one’s cool and not cool gadget for me at the same time. Why? Because you need your own fingerprint, or your own touch, before you can get the USB to work. In short, you need to be the one to plug it so it plays.

That’s cool if you are suprasafe or paranoid about stuff and if you don’t really need to use the flash drive for passing much stuff around to other people.

But if you’re like me who asks the driver to print school papers while I’m at work just to make it to the deadline, or uses it to transfer files like group reports and pictures, the touch- or fingerprint-sensitive flash drive just won’t work for you.

Nonetheless, it’s a gadget that made today’s audience give out a big “WHOA.”

My fave: iPod Nano with multi-touch display

Now my favorite of all is the iPod Nano with multi-touch display, simply because it’s small and it terribly (Woe to me who contemplates this unnecessary expense!) suits my kind of lifestyle--which is fast and inclined to do multiple tasks in a very limited time.

It has a good enough space for music, photos, and a clock, too! You can actually strap it onto your wrist and it instantly becomes a watch. And yes, it’s that small. It is actually so handy that it won’t be a bother to carry it everywhere you go.

My perception was that it’s just a little bigger than a regular stamp. (For exact specs, you can easily google it or find it at apple.com together with the prices.)

So, after my confessions of love and admiration for this Nano, let me just leave you with a message that I have already announced earlier on UKG. If you’d like to get me a gift this Christmas, this would be a great idea. Just kidding! Have a great day everyone!